Improve Your Sleep, Improve Your Life
Sleep is the best meditation. -Dalai Lama
Wonderful, glorious, restorative sleep. That is if you are someone who easily gets enough restful sleep. Most of us have difficulty sleeping on occasion, possibly during a stressful time, or after a large meal. Others have chronic issues getting the sleep they need. There is nothing more frustrating than laying in bed, trying to force yourself to be asleep. The harder you try, the further you get from your dreamy destination. We lay there, staring at the ceiling, wondering, why?
The Mind is Rooted In the Heart
Chinese Medicine identifies many imbalances that can cause sleep disturbances or insomnia. Insomnia is the inability to fall asleep, waking during the night, sleeping restlessly, waking too early or dream disturbed sleep. Sleep depends on the state of the mind and the mind is rooted in the Heart. If the Heart is deficient or agitated, the mind will not be properly grounded and sleep will be affected.
All of the different causes of insomnia can be divided into two types: deficiency and excess. When there is a deficiency, the mind (Shen) is unable to take root to allow sleep. When there is an excess condition, usually involving heat, the heat rises up to agitate the mind, therefore causing insomnia. Overexertion, excessive thinking, worrying, loss of blood such as after childbirth or a surgery, anger, irregular diet (overeating or eating too much spicy, greasy and hot food), and heat in the body can all cause insomnia.
Tips For Great Sleep
We all know that sleep is important. It keeps our energy up, immune system strong, helps our liver cleanse the body at night, increases our ability to focus, improves memory, and the list goes on. So what can we do to ensure we get enough quality sleep?
Exercise. Move your body enough during the day so you feel tired at night.
Eliminate screen time for at least 30 minutes before shutting your eyes. Reading a real book can be helpful for some people. As long as it is not an action packed page turner that keeps you reading into the night.
Meditate or do some deep breathing exercised while in bed. There are plenty of guided meditations to listen to. Just don’t pick one with a video or the screen time could counteract the meditating.
Use relaxing essential oils like lavender or a nice sleepy time blend. As with meditation, this keeps your mind from worrying and wandering into fear and anxiety and is key to restful sleep.
Eat a well balanced, whole foods, plant based diet and avoid processed, greasy, very spicy food, alcohol, caffeine, and sugar. This ensures you are getting all the vitamins and minerals you need while steering clear of things that disrupt sleep.
Write in a gratitude journal. There is something nice about feeling grateful for the big and small things in life just before you drift off.
Acupuncture and Chinese herbs are extremely effective at treating insomnia and have been used for thousands of years. They correct the imbalances in the body so insomnia is no longer a problem.
Try sleeping on your right side with knees slightly bent and your left arm resting on your right thigh. According to traditional Chinese views, this is the optimal position for your body to recuperate and function during sleep.
For more information on how acupuncture can help you with insomnia or any other health concern, visit Garden Acupuncture.